The real thrill of a hiking trip in the wild is an encounter like this. When standing one to one with such a wild creature, one’s feeling of happiness is great. Many times, I have followed moose bulls through the forests and meadows of the western USA, and was lucky they never showed any aggressive behavior. One must know how to approach them. I wouldn’t dare to do this with a grizzly bear! One can expect more aggressiveness from a cow moose with calf. She will be much more dangerous than a bull. The members of the deer family are the most impressive during mating season, the autumn.

The animal in my painting is shown in typical Grand Teton (Wyoming) scenery. Moose in the Tetons and Yellowstone are never as big and impressive as their cousins in Alaska, although this one was a decent specimen for that area.

Moose like to browse in willow bushes one finds along the meandering streams and creeks. It is usually in such areas that my numerous encounters occurred. Happy with all the good food, they let you come very close, the perfect way to get the necessary inspiration and references for a good painting,

Nowadays, there is less chance of an encounter like this in Yellowstone, since the reintroduced wolf packs reduce the number of moose considerably.